SeeCalifornia.com

Bluefin tuna have recently made their way from Japan to the U.S. with the signature markers of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, aiding scientists in studying their migrations. Another effect of the horrific accident caused by an earthquake has hit our shore–researchers have discovered that the nuclear disaster is affecting young children born on the US West Coast after the March 2011 Japan nuclear plant meltdown, making them 28% more likely to develop congenital hyperthyroidism. The New York-based Radiation and Health Project wrote in a study published by the Open Journal of Pediatrics that children born on the West Coast after the 2011 meltdown of Japan’s Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant are at high risk of acquiring a rare disease caused by radioactive iodine that enters the body and gathers in the thyroid. Radiation exposure can stunt the growth of a child’s body and brain.  Even decades after the accident, higher absorption of I-131 radiation may lead to an increased risk for thyroid cancer among victims – a risk that doesn’t appear to diminish over time.

44.2 percent of 94,975 sampled Fukushima children have had thyroid ultrasound abnormalities as a likely result of their exposure to the radiation. Children on the US West Coast, Alaska and Hawaii could face similar risks of congenital hypothyroidism or thyroid cancer throughout their lives.

Soldiers aboard the USS Ronald Reagan, which rerouted from Korea to assist after reactors at Fukushima went into meltdown in 2011, have filed a lawsuit against TEPCO in the District Court for the Southern District of California, claiming that the Fukushima radiation leak caused leukaemias, testicular cancer, vision problems and other health problems. So far, 24 people are claiming damages, but  70,000 US military personnel and families stationed in or near Japan at the time could be party to the suit if they learn about it and choose to sign up.

Meanwhile, the nuclear reactors in California are showing their wear and even so, Southern California Edison wants to re-start San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station around  June 1, 2013. The recent threats by North Korea have our elected officials scratching their heads, barely pondering the disastrous results of a strike that could wipe out our electric grid and cause the reactors to fail, creating  an environmental and health problem far worse the Fukushima. The U.S. has no back-up equipment (manufactured in China)  to replace our current electric grid system. Solar flares also have the ability to wreak similar havoc and scientists warn that it’s not a matter of IF but WHEN a major solar flare will cause such damage.